In her office at Haven of Grace, a residential and aftercare
program for homeless, pregnant women, new executive director
Marissa Paine keeps two photos on her desk. One shows Paine at 19,
holding her firstborn son. A native St. Louisan, Paine had her
first child unmarried and unplanned. Looking at the photo, she
says, “I didn’t have a clue.”

The second photo shows Paine at her graduation from
Washington University’s School of Social Work. “What drew me to the
Haven was the fact that I have a personal experience, I’ve been, to
some extent, where a lot of the residents are,” says Paine, who
became executive director in November, after serving as a project
director for the Compassion Capital Fund at St. Louis For Kids. “I
know that where they are today is not where they’re going, it
doesn’t have to be the end.”

Paine says she thinks of the Haven as not just a physical
place, but as a process. The process begins when expectant mothers
aged 18 to 24 come to the shelter, which currently houses 10 young
women. There’s no limit on how long they can stay, but most remain
six to nine months, Paine says, through the birth of their baby.
They receive medical care and life skills education, and are
expected to continue high school or work toward a GED.

“The other part of the process is the day to day work that
we do with the residents, who frequently come from intimate abuse
or family abusive situations,” Paine says. “They’ve often been
bouncing around from house to house, and sometimes they’ve picked
up some unhealthy habits, so they’re guarded, protective and
distrusting. But our staff doesn’t give up on them the first time
they make a mistake, and through that they evolve and are able to
be better parents.”

After the women have given birth, the Haven provides interim
housing on its Old North St. Louis campus. The Quadrangle
Apartments, completed last May, allow the new mothers to practice
independent living, paying rent at 30 percent of their total income
while pursuing education or a job. Once they move out, the Haven
continues to provide support in the form of mentoring, home visits,
financial aid, scholarships and a homebuyers club as part of its
aftercare program.

The total process, Paine says, is designed to break what can
be a crushing cycle of homelessness and early motherhood. When
women have children early and stop going to school, day to day
survival becomes the most pressing thing, she says. “It’s very easy
to stall and get lost in that situation, and that obviously has
very costly ramifications on society in general, because they
become dependent and then their children grow up and repeat it.”
The Haven of Grace breaks that cycle, Paine says, because it
provides women with shelter, the most basic need, so they can focus
on getting an education and becoming employable. “At the end of the
day, it’s that confidence, that employability, so they can stand on
their own two feet,” she says. “We’ve got it here, if they’re
willing.”

Paine will oversee her first Haven of Grace gala as
executive director this spring. ‘Pennies from Heaven’ takes place
Friday, April 24, in the Crystal Ballroom of the Renaissance Grand
Hotel downtown and includes a cocktail reception, silent auction,
dinner, dancing and music provided by Beth Tuttle & Friends.
Photographs taken by residents who are in a photography class will
also be on display and for sale, with a portion of proceeds going
directly to their individual savings accounts. The evening’s theme
is, appropriately, “Opening Doors of Opportunity.”